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The 10 Steps To Pulling Off A Stellar New Year’s Eve Wedding

Here’s a good article on tips for New Year’s Weddings by Jennifer Spector of Brides Magazine.

I always imagined I would have a winter wedding, even before I was engaged! When my now husband popped the question in December of 2014, I was thrilled because I knew we could have a year long engagement and get married squarely in the winter.

When we began planning, we both immediately loved the idea of a New Year’s Eve wedding. Every year we always scramble to find plans — why not throw a huge party for all of our loved ones, and get married at the same time?

Well, settling on the date was just the beginning, actually planning a holiday wedding is a bit more complicated. In the spirit of the countdown to midnight, these are my 10 tips to throwing a New Year’s Eve wedding.

10. New Year’s Eve is a popular date not just for weddings, but other events as well. Vendors book up for other parties, so make sure you quickly secure your team. You are not just competing with other weddings but parties of all shapes and sizes. We hired a fantastic wedding planner — Melissa at Uncommon Events — who quickly secured all of our vendors. Without her we would not have been able to get get married at Front and Palmer, or hire most of our other vendors.

9. New Year’s Eve is a transportation challenge. Think of your most recent New Year’s Eve plans — was it hard to find a cab, or avoid Uber surge pricing? The same will be true if it is your wedding night, so make sure that you plan transportation for your guests.

8. New Year’s Eve is a holiday — so that means there will extra expenses. Typically labor is time and half on holidays, plus your wedding will likely go past midnight which could mean additional charges. Make sure you budget for additional labor costs so they don’t sneak up on you.

7. Vendors go home for the holidays too. Many vendors will take off, or be extremely busy right before your wedding. Take a deep breath, your vendors will get back to you, but to avoid pre-wedding panic — speak with each vendor beforehand to get comfortable with their holiday plan and adjust your timeline accordingly.

6. Timing is everything. We wanted to make sure the reception was full steam at midnight, so we adjusted our timeline so we could party all night. Our ceremony started at 7 p.m., and cocktails at 8 p.m.. As long as you feed your guests as early as possible, the rest of the night can be more relaxed. But don’t wait until 11 p.m. to serve dinner or your guests won’t have enough energy to dance all night! We also had late night cheese steaks (we got married in Philadelphia after all) so that guests would be able to recharge into the wee hours of the New Year.

5. New Year’s Eve weather is unpredictable! I know this might seem like an obvious point, but just like summer weddings contend with being hot or rainy, winter weddings are cold and could be snowy (unless you are getting married in a warm weather destination). We were lucky because our wedding day turned out to be a balmy 50 degrees and so we took a few photos outside, but make sure you have full indoor plans for every moment of your wedding day. You don’t want to freeze yourself or your guests!

4. Winter is not wedding season. This can be good and bad — since so many weddings take place in warmer months your wedding will stand out. However, flowers and other wedding elements can be out of season or at a premium. We decided to forgo flowers altogether, and have a candlelit reception so that we could allocated our budget into other aspects of our wedding.

3. Wear comfortable shoes. If you are having a New Year’s Eve wedding, then you probably love to dance. I ordered custom high-top sneakers the same height as my wedding shoes, so I could change into them and dance all night. I also changed into a shorter dress after midnight so I could really cut loose. Priorities!

2. Make midnight memorable! We worked with our band leader to ensure that the countdown was a high point of the night. The dance floor was raging, a champagne toast was brought out, and everyone kissed at midnight! What could be more romantic?!

1. You’ll never forget your anniversary! Celebrating your wedding and ringing in the New Year with all your loved ones is such a rush. I am so happy we got married on New Year’s Eve, despite some of the challenges. All our friends and family asked us what we were doing this year, hoping for another party! Although we will be celebrating our first anniversary just the two of us, I hope in the future we will make hosting New Year’s Eve a tradition to celebrate our marriage and the people we love.

I was thrilled with my experience with Sperry Tents Seacoast! I always felt comfortable and well taken care off. They are true professionals that made the process so much easier than I had anticipated when my daughter suggested a wedding at our house.

And the tent was more than we could have had hoped for. It was so remarkable, my daughter was over the moon when she saw it set up.

Sperry is a wonderful company to work with. They are by far the best in the area in terms of professionalism and quality! Love the sailcloth and stained wood. Additionally, they worked directly with my other vendors saving me time and a headache!

Please express our thanks to all the folks at Sperry Tent that helped plan and set up the tent for our daughter's wedding at the Nonantum Resort on Saturday, June 2, 2018. The weather which looked threatening earlier in the week turn out to be beautiful and the tented wedding reception was just outstanding thanks to the combined efforts of Sperry Tent and the Nonantum. Both were great people to schedule an event with. Everyone attending enjoyed themselves and the spectacular river views at the outside tented venue.

Thank you again for making the wedding such a wonderful evening event.

We used Sperry Tents for our August wedding and it was just beautiful! The detail that goes into the inside and outside of the tent is unparalleled. Picca was wonderful to work with and the tent gave a finished looked to our event that would have been missing without it.

The tent was beautiful in the daylight...the Sperry provided uplighting only enhanced the appearance inside and out when darkness fell. Everything was perfect and executed seamlessly in coordination with the venue.

As a premier wedding venue, we look for the most exceptional quality and service out of the vendors that we use and recommend. Michael and his team deliver just that. Working with Michael is like being around family, he not only makes you feel important but he also delivers the most outstanding service I have ever seen. The team always deliver on time and provides the most seamless set-up and break-down, which is important for being an active hotel. Not only do they provide beautiful tents but everyone's professionalism and attention to detail makes working with Sperry Tents Seacoast a true pleasure.

I have used Sperry Tents many times over the years because their tents are stunning. Most recently used them for my wedding. Not only is the tent always perfect, the folks at Seacoast Sperry are incredibly helpful and accommodating (and always on time.)
Thanks Sperry!

Please express out thanks to all the folks at Sperry Tent that helped plan and setup the tent for our daughter's wedding at the Nonantum Resort on Saturday, June 2, 2018. The weather which looked threatening earlier in the week turned out to be beautiful and the tented wedding reception was just outstanding thanks to the cobined efforst of Spery Tent and the Nonantum. Both were great people to schedule an event with. Everyone attending enjoed themselves and the spectacular river views at the outside tented venue.

Thank you again for making the wedding such a wonderful evening event.

“Last summer, I attended a friend’s wedding for which Sperry created the most magical venue a bride could ever imagine. Every detail of both tents—from the raised floor to the sparkling lights to the magnificent seating to the crisp pennants perched at the tops of the tents waving in the wind —was perfect. Truly majestic and probably the most beautiful wedding I will ever attend.”

If you are using a tent for your wedding (or any other event) you have to go with Sperry, that's all there is to it! They did such an amazing job, we can't say enough about this company. The tents are gorgeous inside and out, the customer service is unparalleled and we were absolutely thrilled with everything they did for us. The only complaint we have is that they took the tent down and didn't leave it for us forever. We love Sperry and could go on and on. You will NOT be disappointed!

Sperry Tents Seacoast is such a pleasure to work with- their team is super professional and knowledgeable! Quick, thoughtful, and genuine responses to every question asked. The tent was perfect in every aspect- I love hearing friends and family STILL comment on how beautiful it was!

Sperry Tents Seacoast provided the tents for my daughter' wedding. The tent was spectacular! Liz and the office crew walked me though the whole planning process. Ben and Jason did a great job installing the tent. What nice young gentlemen...... Kudos!

After having a bad experience with another tent company, I was pleased that Sperry was able to step in and give me a beautiful tent that made my wedding day. This was by far the easiest part of my wedding to plan. The staff was a pleasure... professional, reasonable, quick and easy to work with. The tents are breathtaking; the sailcloth against the beautiful wood is a great background for pictures. I will definitely work with Sperry again!

Sperry Tents is amazing in every way. The tent was truly stunning and the crew could not have been nicer. And most incredibly - they brought the tent and crew all the way to Texas (from New Hampshire) for our wedding! It was awesome to watch them put the tent together, and what they built was unlike anything our guests had ever seen. It set the tone for the entire event - casual elegance. If you are having a tent at your wedding this is the ONLY one to have. No more plastic structures with drapery inside that looks like a gaudy coffin! This is simple, classic and gorgeous! Thank you Sperry :)